Deuteronomy 32:2

32:2 My teaching will drop like the rain,

my sayings will drip like the dew, ¹ 

as rain drops upon the grass,

and showers upon new growth.

Genesis 27:28-29

27:28 May God give you

the dew of the sky ² 

and the richness ³  of the earth,

and plenty of grain and new wine.

27:29 May peoples serve you

and nations bow down to you.

You will be ⁴  lord ⁵  over your brothers,

and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. ⁶ 

May those who curse you be cursed,

and those who bless you be blessed.”

Job 29:19

29:19 My roots reach the water,

and the dew lies on my branches all night long.

Psalms 110:3

110:3 Your people willingly follow you ⁷  when you go into battle. ⁸ 

On the holy hills ⁹  at sunrise ¹⁰  the dew of your youth ¹¹  belongs to you. ¹² 

Proverbs 3:20

3:20 By his knowledge the primordial sea ¹³  was broken open, ¹⁴ 

and the clouds drip down dew. ¹⁵ 

Proverbs 19:12

19:12 A king’s wrath is like ¹⁶  the roar of a lion, ¹⁷ 

but his favor is like dew on the grass. ¹⁸ 

Isaiah 18:4

18:4 For this is what the Lord has told me:

“I will wait ¹⁹  and watch from my place,

like scorching heat produced by the sunlight, ²⁰ 

like a cloud of mist ²¹  in the heat ²²  of harvest.” ²³ 

Hosea 14:5

14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel;

he will blossom like a lily,

he will send down his roots like a cedar of ²⁴  Lebanon.

Micah 5:7

5:7 Those survivors from ²⁵  Jacob will live ²⁶ 

in the midst of many nations. ²⁷ 

They will be like the dew the Lord sends,

like the rain on the grass,

that does not hope for men to come

or wait around for humans to arrive. ²⁸ 

Zechariah 8:12

8:12 ‘for there will be a peaceful time of sowing, the vine will produce its fruit and the ground its yield, and the skies ²⁹  will rain down dew. Then I will allow the remnant of my people to possess all these things.

[32:2]  ¹ tn Or “mist,” “light drizzle.” In some contexts the term appears to refer to light rain, rather than dew.

[27:28]  ² tn Heb “and from the dew of the sky.”

[27:28]  ³ tn Heb “and from the fatness.”

[27:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “and be.” The verb is an imperative, which is used rhetorically in this oracle of blessing. It is an invitation to exercise authority his brothers and indicates that he is granted such authority by the patriarch of the family. Furthermore, the blessing enables the recipient to accomplish this.

[27:29]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew word is גְבִיר (gevir, “lord, mighty one”). The one being blessed will be stronger and therefore more powerful than his brother. See Gen 25:23. The feminine form of this rare noun means “mistress” or “queen-mother.”

[27:29]  ⁶ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verbal form (which is either an imperfect or a jussive) with the prefixed conjunction indicates purpose or result.

[110:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “your people, free will offerings.” Perhaps the people, in their willingness to volunteer, are compared metaphorically to freewill offerings. Following the LXX, some revocalize the text and read “with you is nobility.”

[110:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “in the day of your power.”

[110:3]  ⁹ tc Heb “in splendor of holiness.” The plural construct form הַדְרֵי (hadrey, from הָדַר, hadar, “splendor”) occurs only here; it may indicate degree or perhaps refer by metonymy to garments (see Pss 29:2 and 96:9, where the phrase הַדְרַת קֹדֶשׁ [hadrat qodesh] refers to “holy attire”). If one retains the reading of the MT, this phrase should probably be taken with the preceding line. However, because of the subsequent references to “dawn” and to “dew,” it is better to emend the text to הַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ (harrey qodesh, “mountains of holiness”), a reading found in many medieval Hebrew mss and in some other ancient witnesses (see Joel 2:2; Ps 133:3, as well as L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 80). The “mountains of holiness” are probably the hills surrounding Zion (see Ps 87:1; 125:2; 133:3).

[110:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “from the womb of dawn.” The Hebrew noun רֶחֶם (rekhem, “womb”) is probably used here metonymically for “birth.” The form מִשְׁחָר (mishkhar) occurs only here and should be emended to שַׁחַר (shakhar, “dawn”) with the mem (מ) being understood as dittographic (note the final mem [ם] on the preceding word). The phrase “womb [i.e., “birth”] of dawn” refers to sunrise.

[110:3]  ¹¹ sn The point of the metaphor is not entirely clear. The dew may symbolize the king’s youthful vitality or, more likely (note the parallelism), may refer to his army of strong, youthful warriors.

[110:3]  ¹² tn Heb “to you [is].”

[3:20]  ¹³ sn The word תְּהוֹמוֹת (tÿhomot, “primordial sea”) alludes to the chaotic “deep” in Gen 1:2 (BDB 1063 s.v. תְּהוֹם 3). This was viewed in the ancient world as a force to be reckoned with. However, God not only formed it but controls it (see J. Emerton, “Spring and Torrent in Ps 74:15,” VT 15 [1965]: 125).

[3:20]  ¹⁴ sn This might refer to God’s action of dividing the waters to form the dry ground on the third day (Gen 1:9-10) or, less likely, to the breaking up of the fountains of the deep at the flood (Gen 7:11).

[3:20]  ¹⁵ sn The two colons form a merism: The wisdom of God is behind all forces of nature, whether the violent breaking forth of its watery forces at creation or the provision of the gentle rain and dew throughout history (T. T. Perowne, Proverbs, 55).

[19:12]  ¹⁶ sn The verse contrasts the “rage” of the king with his “favor” by using two similes. The first simile presents the king at his most dangerous – his anger (e.g., 20:2; Amos 3:4). The second simile presents his favor as beneficial for life (e.g., 16:14-15; 28:15).

[19:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “is a roaring like a lion.”

[19:12]  ¹⁸ sn The proverb makes an observation about a king’s power to terrify or to refresh. It advises people to use tact with a king.

[18:4]  ¹⁹ tn Or “be quiet, inactive”; NIV “will remain quiet.”

[18:4]  ²⁰ tn Heb “like the glowing heat because of light.” The precise meaning of the line is uncertain.

[18:4]  ²¹ tn Heb “a cloud of dew,” or “a cloud of light rain.”

[18:4]  ²² tc Some medieval Hebrew mss, with support from the LXX, Syriac Peshitta, and Latin Vulgate, read “the day.”

[18:4]  ²³ sn It is unclear how the comparisons in v. 4b relate to the preceding statement. How is waiting and watching similar to heat or a cloud? For a discussion of interpretive options, see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:362.

[14:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “like Lebanon” (so KJV; also in the following verse). The phrase “a cedar of” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it is supplied in translation for clarity. Cf. TEV “the trees of Lebanon”; NRSV “the forests of Lebanon.”

[5:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the remnant of” (also in v. 8).

[5:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “will be.”

[5:7]  ²⁷ tn This could mean “(scattered) among the nations” (cf. CEV, NLT) or “surrounded by many nations” (cf. NRSV).

[5:7]  ²⁸ tn Heb “that does not hope for man, and does not wait for the sons of men.”

[8:12]  ²⁹ tn Or “the heavens” (so KJV, NAB, NIV). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “skies” depending on the context.